Want to see what the world is made of? This class will help you understand how the entire universe is able to exist by using only 118 ingredients (elements).  We explore what atoms are, what they look like, and how they join together to create new substances, called compounds.  Learners are encouraged to listen as I explain, ask questions, and create and share drawings to understand what our world looks like at the atomic level.

Each week the class follows this structure:
~ Review atoms and what they look like
~ Draw diagrams of 2 atoms for two different elements (Bohr model and Lewis structure)
~ Review molecules and how they form
~ Draw a molecule of a substance made of the two types of atoms we drew
~ Discuss reasons why these atoms are able to join and make new substances

Topics for Summer 2024:
~ Oxygen and Hydrogen atoms forming water (6/16-6/22)
~ Sodium and Chlorine atoms forming salt (6/23-6/29)
~ Calcium and Fluorine atoms forming fluorspar (7/7-7/13)
~ Silicon and Carbon atoms forming carborundum (7/14-7/20)
~ Iron and Phosphorus atoms forming iron phosphide (7/21-7/27)
~ Silver and Nitrogen atoms forming silver azide (7/28-8/3)
~ Cadmium and Sulfur atoms forming greenockite (8/4-8/10)
~ Titanium and Boron atoms forming titanium diboride (8/11-8/17)

Topics for 2024-2025 School Year

September: Compounds Making Minerals
~ Aluminum and Oxygen (9/8-9/14)
~ Iron and Sulfur (9/15-9/21)
~ Silicon and Oxygen (9/22-9/28)

October: Compounds Making Semiconductors
~ Arsenic and Magnesium (9/29-10/5)
~ Germanium and Hydrogen (10/6-10/12)
NO CLASSES 10/13-10/19
~ Gallium and Antimony (10/20-10/26)
~ Mercury and Tellurium (10/27-11/2)

November: Compounds in the Air
~ Nitrogen and Oxygen (11/3-11/9)
~ Carbon and Hydrogen (11/10-11/16)
~ Carbon and Oxygen (11/17-11/23)
NO CLASSES 11/24-11/30

December: Compounds that are Poisons
~ Sulfur and Fluorine (12/1-12/7)
~ Carbon and Nitrogen (12/8-12/14)
~ Boron and Chlorine (12/15-12/21)

January: Compounds Making Minerals
~ Sodium and Chlorine (1/5-1/11)
~ Zinc and Sulfur (1/12-1/18)
~ Calcium and Oxygen (1/19-1/25)
~ Nickel and Antimony (1/26-2/1)

February: Compounds in Glass Making
~ Cadmium and Sulfur (2/2-2/8)
~ Cobalt and Oxygen (2/9-2/15)
~ Silicon, Aluminum, and Oxygen (2/16-2/22)
~ Sodium and Oxygen (2/23-3/1)

March: Compounds in Common Minerals
~ Silver and Sulfur (3/2-3/8)
~ Iron and Oxygen (3/9-3/15)
~ Calcium and Fluorine (3/16-3/22)
~ Lead and Sulfur (3/23-3/29)

April: Helpful Chemicals
~ Potassium and Chlorine (4/6-4/12)
~ Calcium and Phosphorus (4/13-4/19)
~ Silver and Nitrogen (4/20-4/26)
~ Lithium and Bromine (4/27-5/3)

May: Compounds for Healthy Living
~ Sodium and Iodine (5/4-5/10)
~ Lithium and Oxygen (5/11-5/17)
~ Uranium and Boron (5/18-5/24)